Kakl ewgel of akeingtok



K. N EL.

FASTENER HOE UPPERS.

Armcmou FILED on. s. 1912.

1,150,854. Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

Min/[5555: 4 man/70R. f Fig.4. 42% 5 f I. In TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KARL ENGEL, F ARLINGTON, ILLSSACH'USETTS, ASSIGNOB TO U'NITED SHOE IAY COMPANY, OF PA'IEBSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 01:

NEW-JERSEY.

rasrnnnn r01: sHon-urrnns.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

Application filed Dctober 8, 1912. Serial R0. 724 571.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, KARL Exam, 2 citizen of the United States, residing at Arlington. in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Fasteners for Shoeppers, of which the following descnptlon, in connection with the accompanying drawings. is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating hke parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to shoe fastening devices for securing together the eyeleted edges of shoe uppers.

In the manufacture of boots and shoes, 1t is frequently desirable or necessary to secure the eyeleted edges of an upper to getl 1er temporarily in order to hold the said edges from being unduly spread apart when the upper is under tension, for example, during lasting or operatlons.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved shoe fastening device so constructed and arranged that, whenever during the bottoming of a shoe the upper is thus put undertension, not only will the eyeleted edges of the upper always be held against excessive spreading but also danger of injuriously straining or tearing the upper will be obviated.

To this end, the invention, as preferably embodied, comprises means for engaging and opposite eyelets of an upper and a spring connection betw en these means so constructed and arranged that when the tension incident; for example, to the lasting operation is put upon the upper, eyelet engaging and means w|ll be caused to put a suflicient opposing tension on the eyeleted edges of the upper in directions tending to draw the said edges together to maintain them properly spaced during the lasting or other operation. it the same time, this Yielding connection between the eyelet engaging and retaining means permits the said means to separate sufcieutly, Imder. excessive and abnormal strainsto insure that the upper will not be damaged as by iniuriously straining or tearing the vamp. Furthermore, the illustrated construction and arrangement are such that' the opposing tension put on the eyeleted edges of the upper by the fastening device is so applied as to cause the said edges and adjacent portions of the upper to conform closely to the last whatever its con tour and whatever the style of the shoe.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastening device for shoe uppers adapted for use also as a shoe upper carrier and hanger. To this end, in fasteners embodying the present invention, the spring connection between the eyelet engaging and retaining means preferably comprises a spring loop constituting a carrier and hanger arranged to be used either for carrying unlasted uppers or lasted shoes from one place to another or, where shoe racks comprising series of spindles or rods are employed, to be used for stacking unlasted uppers upon the spindles or rods of such racks.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will appear from the following detailed description read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a view of a shoe, partly in section. looking at the shoe from in front and slightly above the shoe, and showing one embodiment of the present invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a modification of the form of fastener shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an angular perspective of another modification applied to a rod of a rod shoe rack; Fig. l is an angular perspective of a plu ralit-y of fasteners embodying the present invention shown in connection with a rod ofa rod shoe rack.

The illustrated fastening device con1- prises a single piece of spring metal, preferably of rather stiff tempered steel wire, bent back upon itself near its center to form a loop or ring '2 terminating in crossed 0ppositely extending legs 4 in sliding engagement near their point of intersection 6 and carrying open eyelet engaging and retaining hooks 8 adapted to enter opposed eyelets 10 of a shoe upper top A. the upper top A illustrated being of the co-called Blucher type. Preferably. as shown, the eyelet engaging and retaining hooks 8 are in the plane of the legs 4 and the free end of each hook 8 extends parallel to the adjacent leg 4.

The eyelet engaging and retaining hooks S are, in the form illustrated in Fig. 1, inturned so as to have their free ends located on the inner side of the upper when the fastening device is in use, this construction being especially designed to prevent the ends of the hooks 8 from marring or defacing the vamps of adjacent uppers of a pile of uppers stacked together. In the modified forms shown in Figs. :2 and 3, however, the books 8 areoppositely directed so that, when in use. the ends of the said hooks will be lo cated on the outer side of the upper top A, the outt-urned hooks possesing the advantage of obviating any danger of mar v the vamp, indicated generally at B, of w 'ch there is sometimes liability in the use of the device in connection with shoes having very hi h insteps.

'l'he above described construction and arrangement are such that the loop or ring portion :2 of the fastening device constituts a spring connection between the eyelet engaging and retaining hooks 8 which connection causes the said hooks 8 to tension the eyeleted edges of an upper sufiiciently in directions tending to draw the said edges together to nevent excessive separation of the eyelet edges of the upper at any time during the lasting operation. At the same time, the spring connection between the hooks 8 permits them to yield sufiiciently under abnormal and excessive lasting strains to prevent unduly straining the vamp B and thus weakening or breaking it, partlcularly in the regions indimted at 12 where the lasting is great and the vamp relatively weak. Furthermore, as will be clearly apparent fi-om Fig. 1, the noses, indicated at 1- of the Blucher top A. are held down flat on the vamp B.

It will be understood that, by reason of the yielding character of the above described connection between the eyelet e aging and retaining hooks 8, the eyeleted dgcs of an upper are not kept at a mathematically unrarying distance apart at all times when under tension due to the lasting or other bottoming operations. The constructfion is such, however, as to prevent. objectionable variations in the distance of the said edges apart at'anv time. Moreover, from an assortment of fastening devices diflering somewhat in the normal distance apart of the terminal portions of the hooks 8, a selection an be made appropriate to the particular pattern of a given upper in connection with which the fastener is to be employed so as to insure proper results in the use of the fastening device even in connection with uppers of widely different patterns.

Another advantage of the above dmcribed yielding connection between the eyelet engaging and retaining hooks 8 consists in the fact that this yielding connection facilitates inserting the hooks 8 in or removing them from the eyelets 10 of an upper while a last. is in the shoe and the upper is under tension.

The illustrated fastening device, as above suggested, is designed for use also as an upper carrier and hanger, the loop or ring rtion '2 of the fastening device constitutmg a bail ha 'er by which the fastener and upper or last shoe carried thereby may be taken from place to place or by means of which, as illustrated 1n Figs. 3 and 4, up pers may be stacked on rods 16. In the modified form shown in Fig. 3, the crossed legs 4 of the fastening device are bent near their point of intersection 6 to cause the ring 'or loop portion 2 to lie in a lane anghnlarly disposed to the plane of the egs 4 wi a view to better adapting the device for use in stacking u rs upon vertical rodsasillust-ratedin 1.2,andfortho purpose of further provi against marv of the vamp B.

a fully explained my invention and descri the manner in which the S8106 may be embodied, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:--

1. A shoe fastening device for securing together the eyeleted edges of a shoe upper comprising 0 11 books shaped to enter and retain op eyelets and a sprrng loop constructed and a to draw said hooks toward each other with sufiicient force to maintain said eyeleted edges properly spaced when the upper is under tension during lasting and 0t er operations while perrmtting said hooks to yield'under excessive or abnormal strains to prevent damaging the up ,said ringloopbeingconstructedan f th toscrveasacarrierand hanger or e upper.

2. A shoe fastening device for securing together the eyeletcd epga of a shoe upper comnsmgaspnng 00p termina' in or P legs carryingopenhooksinth d plane 358%? *i $35 op eye e sa1 sprmg oop drawing said hooks toward each other sh as to maintain said eyeleted edges properly (slpaced when theduptper is under tension lastmg' an ot er operations 3. shoe device for securing togather the eyeleted edges of a shoe upper comprising a spring wire bent to pm a spring oop terminating in o posite extending legs carrying open hoo s for erigaging and retaining opposed eyelets, each of said hooks terminating in a free and substantially parallel to the adjacent leg and said spring loop resiliently drawing said hooks toward each other so as to prevent Improper separation of said eyeleted edges when the upper is under tension.

4. A fastening device for shoe uppers comprising a piece of spring wire bent back upon itself to form a loop and having its In testimony whereof I have signed my legs extended beyond their point of intername to this specification in the presence of 10 section to form eyeletengaging and retaintwo subscribing wi ing members, said wire being further bent KARL ENGEL at or near the intersection of its legs to cause tlhe loop portion of the fastiltlifl' a; lie Witness inapaneangulnrydlsposed' to epane HARIDWMDA of the legs. H. Donsnr srn zz' cm fiopiesotthispaizntmbeobtnhedforfiecentsmhbyaddnsslngthe"Gmmisdomdhmh, wamnmnc." 

